Legendary fashion designer Oleg Cassini says he spoke to sausage-and-egg hermit Irwin Rose at least once a week – mostly about deals that turned out to be figments of the imagination of the “Howard Hughes-like” recluse.

“He dreamed about deals that never happened,” Cassini told The Post about the eccentric wheeler-dealer who died Sunday of heart disease.

“Once he arranged a meeting for me with this company. I thought they were buying me out, they thought I was buying them out,” Cassini laughed. “It was all in his imagination.”

Rose, described by some acquaintances as a “networking wizard who knew everybody” died in the 11th-floor Eighth 58th Street apartment he never left in 13 years. For eight of those years, he ate the same meal three times a day – sausages and eggs over easy, cheesecake, rice pudding and chicken soup.

Despite the hundreds of tips and hours of advice the reclusive Rose offered, Cassini – like many others – never actually signed on the dotted line. “He knew everything, but it was never possible to close a deal with him, he was never available,” Cassini explained. “Irwin was very entertaining, but he led a Howard Hughes-kind of life.

“Irwin spent hours dreaming about these enormous deals and I think that’s how he sustained his interest in life.”

Cassini also remembered Rose as a snappy dresser but wondered what happened to his friend’s litany of plans or if he ever made any cash.

“He was an extraordinary man. Irwin was very entertaining and I shall miss him.”

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner said Rose’s body is still unclaimed and officially unidentified. When cops searched his apartment they did not find a single piece of ID.

However, if the body is not claimed by his family – which he never mentioned – in 14 days, sources said his many associates will take care of the service and burial.